History

Systematic activities of the government in the field
of Railways began in 1649, when Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich issued a Code of on the protection
of shipping. Under Peter I, was established the College of Commerce, to monitor the
land routes. Then, in 1742, these functions were transferred to the Office of the
promising road, and in 1748 - the Commission of the roads in the state.

In 1798 Paul I approved the project
of the Department of Education of water communications, which in 1809 was renamed
the Office of Water and Land Communications in 1820-1832 gg. called the General Directorate
of Railways, and in 1833-1842 years. - The General Directorate of Communications and
public buildings.

In 1842, the management created the Department of
Railways. Department led the construction of St. Petersburg-Moscow railway (1842 -
1851). In 1862 were completed Petersburg-Warsaw railway and Nizhny Novgorod railway.

The creation of the Ministry of Communications (MOC)

Petersburg. Ministry of Railways

Posts Rossii15 June 1865 Emperor Alexander II issued
a decree on the establishment of the Ministry of Railways of Russia. Leaders of public
buildings was transferred to the Ministry of the Interior and the telegraph - Chief
Postal Department. In the IPU has been saved Department of Railways and created the
Office of the Inspector General of private railways.

The first Minister of Railways was appointed Pavel
Petrovich Melnikov - an outstanding scientist, a talented engineer and organizer.
He penned the first Russian book "On the railways", numerous monographs and articles
that cover a wide and diverse range of issues relating to railways. Proceedings of
the PP Melnikova initiated the railway science, many theoretical developments, which
he put into practice under the leadership of the construction of railway lines. Thanks
Melnikov Ministry of Railways has become one of the most respected agencies of Russia,
and service in railway transport is considered one of the most prestigious.

P.P. MelnikovV ICS structure was formed:

Construction Management (1867).

Department of Railways and it is technically and Inspection Committee (1870).

Management of state-owned railways (1880).

Inspection of Railways (since 1892).

As a professor, P.P. Melnikov trained a galaxy of
outstanding engineers. One of them was Konstantin Posiet - Minister of Railways in
1874-1888, Whose name is closely linked to the construction of railways in the European
part of Russia. In the period of Pos'eta Minister formed the railway network with
cross-cutting areas in the Donbas and Polesie, in the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia
with access to the Volga, the Urals and Central Asia.

People's Commissariat of Railways (People's
Commissariat)

The First World War undermined the Russian economy
is affected and on the railways. From the end of April 1917 devastation transport
is growing rapidly. Ministry of Railways systematically reports to the government
about the catastrophic situation of the railways. After the October Revolution, the
Soviet regime was necessary for greater centralization in the management of rail.
When forming a new government was formed by the People's Commissariat of Railways
(People's Commissariat).

In 1932, SNK decided to reconstruct the railway, which
provides:

gain at the expense of laying the path of heavier rails;

widespread use of ballasted;

creation of powerful locomotives (PD, IP), heavy 4-axle wagons;

Transfer of rolling stock on the automatic brakes and automatic coupler;

the creation of systems of semi-automatic and automatic locking;

introduction of mechanical and electric interlocking switches and signals and
others.

The Ministry of Railways of the USSR

1946 - People's Commissariat was
transformed into the Ministry of Railways of the USSR.

1954 - from the Ministry of Railways
will provide the Ministry of Transport Construction of the USSR (since 1992 transformed
into concern "Transstroy").

In the postwar period, completing the recovery of
the economy, the IPU has taken the initiative of perspective (20 years) development
and modernization of rail transport. The program included:

further electrification;

introduction of diesel traction;

automation and mechanization of production processes;

Reconstruction of the plant transport engineering.

Through the implementation of the program in 1975
length of the network increased by 17.6 thousand. Km, traffic volumes increased by
3 times (3,621,100,000 tons); 51.7% of traffic carried by electric and diesel locomotives
47.9%; 38.9 thousand. Km were electrified; 62.4 thousand. Km are equipped with self-locking.

In 1982 a plan was proposed for the
rail industry, which is based on the strategy implementation in all parts of the transport
conveyor intensive technologies based on automation and mechanization of a wider manual
labor. In 1988 was made the highest volume of traffic (4116 million tons of cargo
and 4395900000. Passengers) with an increase in the network only by 3.4 thousand.
Km.

In 1991, the Ministry of Railways has developed a
third program of development and reconstruction of railway transport for the period
until 2000, which was the basis for further development and modernization of the Russian
railways.

The Ministry of Railways of the Russian Federation

Coat of arms of the Ministry of Railways

RF20 January 1992 - Education of
the Russian Federation Ministry of Railways.

In 1998 the RF Government Resolution
was adopted "The concept of structural reform of the Federal Railway Transport", which
identified the main goals and objectives of the restructuring of the industry.

March 9, 2004 - Russian Ministry
abolished by Presidential Decree № 314 "On the system and structure of federal bodies
of executive power."

The functions of the abolished ministries - the federal
executive authority transferred to the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation,
Federal Service for Supervision of Transport and the Federal Railway Agency.